Annunciator.



N 0- 756,608. PATENTED- APR. 5, 1904.

P. H. ELWELL.

AN N UNGIATOR.

APPLICATION IILBD JUL! 9, 1002. no menu.

w v i 7' if V II III 'i e: I I,

44:4 I N l UNITED STATES Patente d April 5,1904.

PATENT OFFIC ANINUNOIATOR.

' SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 756,608, dated April 5, 1904.

Application filed July 9, 1902. Serial Ila-114,849. (No model-l To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANKLIN H. ELWELL, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Annunciators, of

- which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to the step-bystep type or multidrop of annunciators for hotel and like uses, and has for its object to pro vide a simple, durableQand eflicient operating mechanism which is capable of application to ordinary existing systems without any material change in the same and at a minimum cost, all as will hereinafter more fully appear, and be more particularly pointed out in the claims. I attain such object by the construction and arrangement of parts ill ustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a front elevation of the register portion of a hotel-annunciator embodying the present invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail elevation showing the face-plate of the register removed to illustrate a simple operating mechanism of the present invention; Fig. 3, a fragmentary sectional elevation at line a: m,

Fig. 2.

Similar numerals of reference indicate like parts in the different views.

Referring to the drawings,-1 represents the housing of'the annunciator, of any'usual and required size and shape and which is provided with a face-plate or dial 2, as usual.

3 represents the dial hands or pointers, ar-

' ranged in front of the face-plate 2 and supported on journal-shafts 4, which project through the face-plate for operative connection with the individual operating mechanisms of the series of such dial hands or pointers. The dial-hands are in the present invention adapted to have a step-by-step oscillatory movement in frontof the dial-plate 2,'and such dial-plate will be correspondingly marked in a spaced manner with words or symbols indicative of the signals transmitted-as, for instance, the words Bell-boy, Ice-water, .Chamberm'aid, and Porteras in the hotel-annunciator illustrated in Fig.- 1 of the present drawings.

In the present invention each individual operating mechanism for a dial hand or pointer 3 will comprise a construction as follows: 5 is a disk mounted on the carryingshaft 4 of a dial-hand and which in the present construction is provided at one side of its periphery with a series of elongated detents 6, and at the side of the periphery diametrically opposed to such detents 6 are a secondary series of detents 7; The arrangement of said detents is such that the projecting and elongated series of detents 6 overweight theside of the dial at which they are located, so that the tendency of such side of the disk is to descend by gravity, and such tendency is preferably increased in the present construction by formingone or more orifices 8 in. the opposite side of the disk, as

shown in Fig.2 of the drawings.

9 and 10 are a pair of opposed pallets 'or pawls journaled at their upper-ends in any suitable manner and connected together, so as to move in unison, so that when one pawl is 4 moved out of the path of its next adjacent detentthe other pawl will be moved into the path of its next adjacent detent, and in consequence an intermittent step-by-step turning movement of the disk 5' will take place in manner similar to an ordinary clock-escapement.

of their respective detents 6 and 7-, it is preferable to form the connection by such means that the pallets are caused to have simultaneous In order to preventa bindingmovement of the points of the pallets. against the surfaces oscillatory movement of a yielding nature, so

beyond its normal length, but is incapable of any compression from such normal length.

The pallet or pawl 9 is preferably pivoted at its upper end by means of a spring hinge or plate 13, the tendency of which is to yieldingly hold such pallet in engagement with an adjacent detent 6 of the disk 5, and such pallet is preferably formed of ironor like magnetic material, so asjt'o constitute the ar ma-- ture of the electromagnet by which the operating-mechanism of the dial handor finger is actuated. It is, however, within the scope of v this part of the present invention to employ a separate armature in connection with such pallet where the circumstances'orthe judg' -ment of the constructorfmay indicate such:

substitution.

4 '14: is an elect omagnet'which when energized bya suita lefsignaling-circuit is adaptadjacent detent ed to attract the armature on the pawl 9 to disengage'said pawl from its engagement with a particular detentfi;

With the described release of the detent'G thedisk 5 isada'pted to turn upon its axis by. the gravitation of such side of the disk as heretofore described, and such turning action continues until the same is arrested by the companion'pawl 1O engaging with the next 7, into the. path of which the said pawl 10-moves. automaticallyas the pawl 9 moves out of the described engagement with the. detent a Such operation imparts a partial rotation to such disk 5 and through the shaft 4 of the same to-the hand or pointer 3,

1 and accordingly such hand or pointer will be of the parts,

now in general use.

moved to a fresh indication on the repetition of the above-described operation or actuation 15 is a. battery line-circuit; of which there is one for each set of such mechanisms, and such circuit is adapted to extend from the room of the hotel orother like sendingpoint to the ofiice of the hotel or other like receiving-point. Such arrangement of the localcir- 'cuit may be of any usual and approved form I 16 is a push-button closerarranged in the described battery-circuit 15 and located at the room of the hotel or other sending station.

With the described arrangement of parts as shown in the-drawings a single push of the push-button 16 is adapted to move the hand or pointer 3 to the call marked Bell-boy, a

. second push to the call markedIce-water,

a third push to the point marked Chambermaid, and afourth push to apointmarked Porter. It is within the province of, thispart of *the present invention to employ a lesser or a'larger number of such indications, with a corresponding modification of the operating parts of the operating mechanism to suit any particular use to which the present invention maybe applied; p

- 17 is a pin or stud projecting from one side of'the disk 5, at the side of the same in which the series of detentsil are formed.

or other like circuit- "July, 1902.

18 is a vertically-movable frame arranged- 'back of theface-pla'te 2 and adapted to be returned to an upward or raised position by a spring 19 after having been pulled downmanually by the' hotel clerk or other person incharge.

20 is a handle by which convenient man'ipue lation ofi'the frame 18 can. be eflected by the 4 operator.

21 is an arm of which there will be one for each indicating mechanism employed in the annunciator and whichis located in the line with the pin, the-arrangement being such movable frame .18 in the manner described the'said arm 21 will engage the stud or pin 17 and with the final downward movement of said frame will return and reset the disk at' .that as'theoperator pulls down the verticallyits original and normal positionof rest, with ,Having thus-fully described my said invenparting oscillation to said pallets, the same comprising an electromagnet, a battery-air cuit and a circuit-closer, substantially as set forth.

Y 2. In an annunciator of the character here-' in described, the combination-of a dial, an oscillating pointer arranged in front of same, a shaft carrying said pointer, adisk carried by said shaft, opposed series of" detents on the periphery'of such disk, a pair of opposed pal lets or pawls pivoted at their upper ends and adapted to have engagement with said detents,

a connection imposing simultaneous move- "ment on said pallets, the same consisting of two sections or bars and a closed coil-spring connecting the same, and means for imparting oscillation to said pallets the samecomprising an electromagnet, a battery-circuit and a pushbutton, substantially as set forth.

Signed at. Chicago, Illinois, this 1st day of FRANKLIN H. ELWELL. Witnesses:

ROBERT BURNs;

HENRY A. Norr'r.

the hand or pointer 3 in a position away from 89.

any of the described indications. 

